Beyond the Unseen Realm
by Blossomlily
Summary: Lily Evans has always been Dana Wright's best friend. James and Lily are now married happily and blessed with a baby boy.. but just when it looked as though nothing could go wrong, the Order received a tip that Voldemort is after the Potters.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Dana Wright drove her car slowly through the city to Godric's Hollow, the village where her best friend Lily and her husband James Potter lived. Sirius Black, one of James's best friends, had asked her to Apparate there but she had chosen to drive as she was feeling too weak to Apparate and she also needed some time to collect her thoughts.

Dana frowned and her knuckles gripped the steering wheel hard. Why had Sirius asked her of all people to meet him at Lily's house? They usually didn't see eye to eye on things. Obviously, it must be something to do with the Order. But his message had sounded like he wanted only the four of them to know about the meeting.

Dana wondered if it had something to do with the threat to Lily and James's lives, the tip the Order had received – that Voldemort was after them.

She shivered involuntarily. This threat had haunted her for quite sometime now, even in her dreams. Dana, being Muggle-born was also in danger – Voldemort had been the cause for the deaths of countless Muggles and Muggle-borns including Lily's parents _and _her parents, and he was still not finished with it.

Yet she found it harder to digest that Lily and James were the next target, Lily and James and baby Harry, the family which meant such a lot to her that they were almost her family. She glanced at herself in the mirror as she drove. She was a slim blonde with brown eyes, which looked a bit swollen and strained for she had not had a good night's sleep for the past week. She was pretty ordinary looking in her striped tee-shirt and denim skirt. So unlike Lily. Lily was beautiful, graceful and vivacious.

Dana could not imagine a life without Lily. Lily was almost like an older sister to her, though they were of the same age. They had gone to Muggle school together and both had received letters from Hogwarts when they were eleven. Dana was shy and soft-spoken, but Lily being bold and kind hearted had taken Dana under her wing. When her parents had been murdered by Voldemort in her second year, she had been shattered and had searched high and low for happiness. But, at last, she found it in her friendship with Lily. Lily had been a pillar of strength during those long weeks, helping Dana recover from her shock and grief, for she had witnessed her parents' death and would have been killed if Dumbledore had not saved her.

Dana had changed since their school days. After leaving Hogwarts, she was no longer the nervous little girl who was always protected by her best friend. She was a full time member of the Order and was also a spy for them at the Ministry of Magic.

Her thoughts came back to the danger James and Lily were now in. If anything happened to them … her heart clenched tightly at the thought. Dana shook her head to clear her mind. Don't be silly, she told herself. There's the Fidelius charm to help us and those three will be perfectly all right with Sirius as Secret Keeper. Sirius will guard them even if it costs him his life. He's one of us.

Or is he? The thought Dana had been trying to restrain for sometime came to the surface. Someone close to Lily and James was a spy and she often suspected it to be Sirius. He knew everything about their whereabouts. Dana knew Remus was too soft and kind hearted like her to be a servant of Lord Voldemort and Peter was too cowardly and much too slow. But Sirius's _brother _had been a Death Eater and Sirius, being a brave and rash wizard, had every chance to be one.

_Stop that,_ Dana told herself fiercely and fought with her mind to push the horrible suspicions out of her mind. She knew pretty well how loyal Sirius was to Lily and James, but she couldn't control the tiny spark of suspicion that came to the surface of her tired and generally suspicious mind, whenever she thought about him.

As she reached the Potter manor, Dana brought the car to a stop and got out hurriedly. Sirius opened the door for her when she had identified herself.

"I thought I asked you to Apparate here quickly," said Sirius, scowling.

"It's OK, Sirius," Lily said appearing behind him. She pushed past him and hugged Dana warmly.

"I've missed you so much," said Lily.

"Me too," said Dana, her eyes stinging, though it had just been a week since she last saw her friend.

"Come on in," Lily ushered her through a corridor and into the living room, where James sat waiting for them on a couch.

Sirius locked the door behind them and came in.

"Where are Remus and Peter?" asked Dana.

Nobody replied.

" Sit down," Sirius told her. "We have a lot to discuss."

And then they began the discussion which would change their lives.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1: Sirius's Idea

Dana sat on the edge of her seat and looked from one person to the other. They all seemed so serious and grave.. she wondered if anything worse had happened.

"Well…?" she said questioningly.

Sirius spoke first.

"It's this… problem we have about the Fidelius Charm. No, about the Secret Keeper, actually…"

"You don't want to do it?" Dana blurted out, and then regretted that immediately because she knew too well how bad Sirius's temper was likely to get if there was any hint that he did not want to do something for the Order, or was not brave enough to, in someone's words.

But it was James who answered.

"It's not like that, Dana," he said. "You see, Sirius thinks that it's too obvious that he is going to be the Secret Keeper and Voldemort and the Death Eaters would know straight away. I – I agree with him."

"Who's going to do it, then?" Dana demanded. "Remus?"

James gave Sirius a dark look before answering.

"No. Sirius suspects him – the guy whom we have all known since our childhood," he told her. "He says Peter –"

"I can tell her, James," interrupted Sirius. "Though I don't quite see why we have to… anyway, I think Peter should be the Secret Keeper. Nobody will think of him. I doubt if Voldemort even knows about him. That's why I didn't invite them both."

Dana couldn't believe her ears. She stared at him with a mixture of anger and incredulity. She then looked at Lily, who said," For once, I agree with them."

"You can't be serious!" said Dana, her voice rising. "You can't let them do that. Peter will spill out all our secrets if Voldemort as much as prods him with his finger!"

"Now that's a bit harsh," said James with a hint of irritation. " Look, we trust Peter. Though he may not look like the brightest or bravest of wizards, I think he's got it in him. He'll go into hiding-"

"I'll do it," Dana interrupted. "You didn't have to ask _Peter_ of all people! I'm there! I can handle it. I'll be Secret Keeper."

"No," said Lily quickly. "No, Dana. I'm not letting you do it. It's too dangerous. You shouldn't-"

"What, Lily?" said Dana softly. " You don't trust me? Or maybe you think I'm not up to the task… Well, let me tell you. I'll guard you with my life. You hear that? I'll die for you. I'll kill that blood thirsty bastard if it's the last thing I ever do. I'm an Auror at the Ministry.. You _can't _doubt my abilities."

"No," Lily said simply. "It's just… if anything happens to me and James, we want you to take care of Harry. And, of course, the Order will need you. You are an important resource, as an Auror and a spy at the Ministry. The Order can't afford to have you out of action when you are in hiding. I hope you understand.." she looked intently at Dana.

Dana looked at the floor and nodded, her eyes stinging. She hated arguing with Lily. She got up, pulled her best friend up and hugged her.

"There, there," said Lily, patting the top of her head.

Dana, though her eyes were now leaking, felt this was a bit funny. Here she was, in her best friend's house, where both she and her husband were in mortal danger, and Lily was the one comforting her, when in reality, it should have been the other way round. Dana should have been the one who was comforting Lily and giving her support.

Then, she saw the tears streaming down Lily's face and felt sick of herself. She had made her friend worry about her, when she already had a lot to do, apart from worrying about Lord Voldemort's next evil plans and trying to spoil them. And Dana hadn't done a single thing to make Lily happy, let alone feel safe and comforted. Not one. But she _had_ added to her mental burdens.

She pulled away from Lily. James and Sirius had gone out of the room. They must have wanted to give the two friends some time together. Or perhaps they had been mortified to see two females break down completely. Dana mentioned this to Lily and was glad when she gave her a watery smile.

"Dana," said Lily, holding her at arm's length. "Where have you been all week? We couldn't send owls, you know. Why didn't you contact us?"

"Oh, I've just been busy with work and the Order," said Dana, dismissing the matter lightly. If Lily knew about the depression and black mood she'd been in, she'd be even more upset.

"You aren't eating well, are you?" said Lily, fussing over her. "You look pale and ill. Whatever _have_ you been doing?"

"I told you. It's just stress. They've been pressuring me a lot at the Ministry."

Lily looked troubled at this.

"They shouldn't overwork you," she said. "You already look ill. I'll speak to –"

"It's ok," Dana assured her. "I _like_ what I do. I like kicking Death Eater butt. And soon, I'm gonna make their evil leader bite the dust. So don't fret."

Lily looked at her amusedly. "What a way to put it!"

Dana shrugged. "It's a fact."

"In any case, Dana, I think you should take some time off work. Get a week's rest at home. Everything will be all right," said Lily, smiling.

"But what about the Order and the Ministry and-"

"Do what I say!" ordered Lily, laughing." It'll do you good."

"I will, madam. If you insist," replied Dana. "Anything to keep you happy."


End file.
